Best Stephen King Book

[Sugar Ape]

New book out 15th Jan, 2013. Doctor Sleep: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen King: Books

 

BBC News - King's sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, out in 2013

 

Stephen King's sequel to his horror novel The Shining is to be released on 24 September 2013, 36 years after the original was published.

 

Doctor Sleep will follow Danny Torrance, the young boy who survived the horrific events of The Shining.

 

According to King's official website, Dan meets a "very special 12-year-old girl" who he must "save from a tribe of murderous paranormals".

 

Now a middle-aged man and aided by a prescient cat, he becomes Doctor Sleep.

 

One of King's most loved works, The Shining was adapted into a 1980 film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick.

 

As in the book, the movie followed the Torrance family as they move to the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado mountains.

 

Jack, a writer, takes a job as a hotel caretaker for a year but becomes possessed by the evil spirits in the building and attacks his family.

 

The young Danny, who has psychic abilities, eventually manages to escape with his mother Wendy.

 

According to King's UK publisher, Hodder and Stoughton, Doctor Sleep returns to the "characters and territory" of The Shining.

 

The book takes up the story of Dan who has been "drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence".

 

The book opens with him settling in a New Hampshire town and taking a job at a nursing home where his "shining" power helps him comfort the dying.

 

Known by the local people as "Doctor Sleep", Dan comes into contact with Abra Stone, a 12-year-old who has "the brightest shining ever seen".

 

Hodder and Stoughton said the story was "an epic war between good and evil" that would "thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining".

 

Fans posting on the official King website expressed excitement at the news of the follow-up, with one writing that he "can't wait to be scared all over again".

[A_S]

I've always thought a re-make of 'It' instead of the poxy 80's version (albeit with a brilliant Tim Curry as Pennywise) would be a fucking shit scary movie. It'd have to be a couple of parts though, as the original movie missed heaps (including adult Bill & Beverlry getting it on! :P)

[Robbo29]

The Stand is my fave, but like Christine, Salems Lot, Carrie, It and more, never liked Misery and fuckin hated the film. Best adaptation i have seen was Salems Lot, David Soul and James Mason,class, vampire was very Nosferatu as well

[Sut]

The TV show version of The Stand is on on the Horror Channel this afternoon. Worth a watch. An epic movie version a la Lord of the Rings would be tremendous.

[Carvalho Diablo]

The TV show version of The Stand is on on the Horror Channel this afternoon. Worth a watch. An epic movie version a la Lord of the Rings would be tremendous.

 

You read my mind mate.

 

The Stand 4 parter is a catastrophe, just horrendously awful. Flagg resembles a portly Mel Gibson crossed with Michael Bolton, after a night on the piss.

 

If it were to be remade with Peter Jackson, Danny Boyle, David Lynch or Guillermo del Toro in charge, then it could be something really special. And profitable.

[Sugar Ape]

You read my mind mate.

 

The Stand 4 parter is a catastrophe, just horrendously awful.

 

If it were to be remade with Peter Jackson, Danny Boyle, David Lynch or Guillermo del Toro in charge, then it could be something really special. And profitable.

 

What if they would make it with Del Toro in charge, but Danny Dyer had to have a lead role. Deal or no deal?

[Carvalho Diablo]

What if they would make it with Del Toro in charge, but Danny Dyer had to have a lead role. Deal or no deal?

 

Deal.

 

Dyer as Larry Underwood, you dirty cant.

[Sut]

A period setting like Super 8 would be good as well.

 

Who (DD aside, obviously) would you cast?

[Juniper]

11.22.63

Fucking outstanding book. I am currently on page 275 and it is mesmerising.

 

Finished this the other week, another good one by King. Couldn't put it down in the final third.

 

Had to watch JFK on Film4 the other night as a result of this book.

[Croque Monsieur]

The Stand is my fave, but like Christine, Salems Lot, Carrie, It and more, never liked Misery and fuckin hated the film. Best adaptation i have seen was Salems Lot, David Soul and James Mason,class, vampire was very Nosferatu as well

 

Yeah, nothing like the vampire in the book. Mr Barlow's first appearance gave me a conniption as a kid (in NSFW tags to avoid spoilers for those who have not seen it):

 

Warning! The following content is NOT WORK SAFE. Click the Show button to reveal.

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[Sugar Ape]

Stephen King’s Under The Dome TV Series Given Green Light | SFX

 

Stephen King’s 2009 novel Under The Dome – about a small New England town that is inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome – is set to become a 13-part TV series for CBS, to be broadcast in the summer of 2013.

 

The show has been commissioned straight-to-series, bypassing the usual pilot route. It will be made by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television production company. Comic writer Brian K Vaughan has scripted the adaptation. Niels Arden Oplev – who directed the Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – will call the shots on the first episode.

 

In the story, the trapped townsfolk have to work out how to survive while trying to work out what caused the dome and how to make it go away.

 

CBS and King’s publishers Simon & Schuster will cross-promote the television series and book in advance of the show’s summer launch with the April 2013 re-release of trade paperback and electronic editions from its Pocket Books imprint.

[Karl_b]

Good stuff, definitely one I'll be watching. I read the book just a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it; I was hoping it would be adapted at some point.

[Bobby Hundreds]

The unabridged audio book of u der the dome was exceptional.

[Sugar Ape]

Just got to Pet Sematary in The Guardian reviews. They are doing every King book in order, which is rather ace. Good review and some good discussion in the comments below, I'll just post the link and not the article as there are loads of spoilers in there if you haven't read the book.

 

Rereading Stephen King: week 16 Pet Sematary | Books | guardian.co.uk

[Sugar Ape]

Firm date now for Under The Dome. Also the first, very small, teaser.

 

CBS Television has announced that Under the Dome will debut on June 24th. The blockbuster tale will receive an initial 13 episode treatment produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.

 

Originally developed at Showtime, Under the Dome has now transferred to sister station CBS and will be produced by Neal Baer, (A Gifted Man, Law & Order: SVU) Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, and Stacey Snider.

 

The series writer, Brian K. Vaughan (Lost) will also function as Executive Producer with Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Unforgettable) set to direct the first episode.

 

 

 

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Also, Dean Norris from Breaking Bad has been cast as "Big Jim" Rennie.

 

 

I'm giving serious consideration to starting at Carrie and reading every King book in order.

[Frankenhooker]

I best get a move on and read the book then. I've had it since release, pick it up and then put it back down.

[index1000]

Hard to choose between the stand or it, for me although as someone said Skeleton Crew was very good.

[s(k)aturation]

I liked Thinner a lot, from memory.

Nice and twisted.

[Sut]

Just got to Pet Sematary in The Guardian reviews. They are doing every King book in order, which is rather ace. Good review and some good discussion in the comments below, I'll just post the link and not the article as there are loads of spoilers in there if you haven't read the book.

 

Rereading Stephen King: week 16 Pet Sematary | Books | guardian.co.uk

 

This is a great series. I'm up to Cujo on my readalong. With the majority of them it's getting towards the better part of 20 years since I read them in secondary school and I'm really enjoying reading them. I'm quite pleased that with a few of them while I remember certain images ("his mind felt as flabby as the strings of an amateur guitarist" or something was one sentence that made me smile in recollection) and general plots, I've forgotten an awful lot so am encountering them as new almost. It's helped that instead of being a 14 year old with no real wider knowledge of literature, film and so on I can now see references and influences shining through his work. Greatest living author.

[Sugar Ape]

This is a great series. I'm up to Cujo on my readalong. With the majority of them it's getting towards the better part of 20 years since I read them in secondary school and I'm really enjoying reading them. I'm quite pleased that with a few of them while I remember certain images ("his mind felt as flabby as the strings of an amateur guitarist" or something was one sentence that made me smile in recollection) and general plots, I've forgotten an awful lot so am encountering them as new almost. It's helped that instead of being a 14 year old with no real wider knowledge of literature, film and so on I can now see references and influences shining through his work. Greatest living author.

 

I'm going to be pretty much the same, most King books I read 10+ years ago, so it'll be good reading them again. I have only got about 7 King books on my shelves which has surprised me, though I haven't read at least half of his books at all.

 

I've just ordered this off eBay, seems a really good price, £39.99 with free postage.

 

 

44 Books Collection

 

TITLES:

 

The Green Mile

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Thinner

Salem's Lot

Skeleton Crew

Pet Semetary

The Regulators

The Eyes of the Dragon

The Shining

Rose Madder

Hearts in Atalantis

From a Buick 8

The Stand

The Tommyknockers

The Talisman (with Peter Straub)

The Mist

The Dark Half

The Dead Zone

Lisey's Story

Dreamcatcher

Danse Macabre

Dolores Claiborne

Bag of Bones

Black House (with Peter Straub)

It

Christine

Cujo

Just After Sunset

Under the Dome

Duma Key

Different Seasons

Blaze

Carrie

Misery

Desperation

Insomnia

Everything's Eventual

Firestarter

Gerald's Game

Cell

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Needful Things

Full Dark, No Stars - HARDBACK 2010 1st Edition

The Stephen King Companion edited by George Beahm

[piscinin]

If you had to recommend one of this books to someone who prefers Kafka to King, which would it be? Someone reckons there's more to him than just a writer of good stories. Really?

[Tony Moanero]

Different Seasons.

[Sugar Ape]

There are always arguments going on about his literary credentials, and there are tons of his books I haven't read, so I can't say what would be the best fit for you with any certainty, but I'd recommend either The Stand or the aforementioned Different Seasons.

 

I think most people regard The Stand as his magnum opus and Different Seasons is a great book. I still haven't got round to reading The Dark Tower series yet, but they are very highly rated and as a fan of fantasy that might be more to your liking.

[Pidge]

Never read any King, other than a few pages of a Dark Tower book. Reminded me a bit of Redwall. Which is a good thing.

[piscinin]

There are always arguments going on about his literary credentials, and there are tons of his books I haven't read, so I can't say what would be the best fit for you with any certainty, but I'd recommend either The Stand or the aforementioned Different Seasons.

 

I think most people regard The Stand as his magnum opus and Different Seasons is a great book. I still haven't got round to reading The Dark Tower series yet, but they are very highly rated and as a fan of fantasy that might be more to your liking.

 

Yeah, the literary credentials thing always makes me laugh since I read his On Writing. In it he makes it clear he resents that assessment, but when given the opportunity to bolster his credentials you can sense the apologism for the paucity of his offerings. You could feel him collapsing in on himself.

 

I'll give the stand a go then. I'll swerve Dark Tower/the Fantasy genre because he would be getting compared to Mervyn Peake then and that probably won't end well. He deserves a fighting chance!

 

Just have to finish the massively underwhelming foundation series.